Make It Yourself or Commission It?
A decision tree built on four things: stakes, volume, timeline and who you have.
Make an explainer video yourself when the stakes are moderate, you need several videos, the deadline is short, or nobody in-house can brief an agency well. Commission it when one film carries serious commercial weight, needs original illustration, or must match a broadcast brand standard. Studio explainers commonly run US$5,000 to US$15,000 for 60 seconds; generating one costs GBP 9.
The short answer
Four things decide it: how much rides on this one film, how many films you need this year, how soon you need the first, and whether anyone in-house can hold the project.
High stakes, one film, generous timeline, and a person who can brief well: commission it. Moderate stakes, several films, a short deadline, or nobody free to manage an agency: make it yourself. The decision tree below walks the branches in that order.
Why this is the fork that matters
Every other decision — tool, style, length, voice — is downstream of this one. Get it wrong and you either overpay by thousands for a video nobody was going to scrutinise, or you put a homemade film in front of an audience that was going to scrutinise it closely.
Our judgement: the mistake runs in both directions about equally. Commissioning is over-bought for internal and mid-funnel videos, and under-bought for the one film that sits on a homepage for three years.
How to work through it
Answer the four questions honestly, in order. Write the answers down — the point is to stop the decision being made on feel.
- Stakes: if this video underperforms, what does it actually cost you? A number, not a feeling.
- Volume: how many videos do you need in the next twelve months? Count them by purpose, not by enthusiasm.
- Timeline: when does the first one need to exist? Count backwards, including review rounds.
- Skill: who will write the script, and who will hold an agency to a brief? Name the person.
- Then run the tree below. It branches on those four answers and nothing else.
- Whichever branch you land on, price the other one anyway. A comparison costs you an hour and settles arguments later.
The decision tree
Start at Q1 and follow the branch. Every ending names a route and why.
MAKE IT OR COMMISSION IT? — decision tree
Q1. If this single video underperforms, does it cost you
more than GBP 5,000 in lost revenue or reputation?
YES -> go to Q2
NO -> go to Q3
Q2. Does it need original illustration, a specific character
style, or a broadcast-level brand standard?
YES -> COMMISSION. This is the film studios are for.
Budget US$5,000-15,000 for a custom 60-second
animated explainer (D-MAK 2026, checked 13 Sep 2026).
NO -> go to Q4
Q3. How many videos do you need in the next 12 months?
1 to 2 -> MAKE IT YOURSELF. Commissioning overhead
(briefing, review cycles, contracting) costs
more than the films are worth at this volume.
3 or more-> MAKE IT YOURSELF, and buy a plan rather than
one-off credits. See the subscription guide.
Q4. When does the first cut need to exist?
Under 2 weeks -> MAKE IT YOURSELF. Agency discovery,
scripting and storyboarding rarely fit.
2 to 8 weeks -> go to Q5
No deadline -> COMMISSION, if Q1 was YES.
Q5. Is there a named person who will write the brief, answer
the agency's questions and chase the review rounds?
YES -> COMMISSION. You have what the route requires.
NO -> MAKE IT YOURSELF. Our judgement: an unmanaged
agency project costs more and lands later than
a self-made film, every time.
STILL UNSURE? Make one yourself first. It costs a finished
minute (GBP 9, or nothing on your 100 welcome credits) and it
turns an abstract argument into a real script you can hand to
an agency later if you still want to.What each route costs in 2026
Sourced and dated, so the tree above has real numbers behind it.
| Route | Cost for a 60-second explainer | Time to first cut | Source and date checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make it yourself, generated | GBP 9 or US$12 (100 credits, one finished minute); first minute free on 100 welcome credits | Same day | AutoScribble live pricing records, checked 13 September 2026 |
| Make it yourself, canvas software | US$10 to US$20 a month: VideoScribe from US$12.50 billed annually, Powtoon Lite US$15 billed yearly, Animaker Basic US$10 | Our judgement: an afternoon for a first usable film | Each company's own pricing page, checked 13 September 2026 |
| Commission a freelancer | US$18 to US$120 an hour, most US-based designers US$35 to US$75 | Our judgement: one to three weeks | Damongo freelance motion designer rates 2026, published 29 August 2026, checked 13 September 2026 |
| Commission an agency or studio | US$3,000 to US$25,000 typical project; custom 60-second animated explainers often US$5,000 to US$15,000 | Our judgement: four to eight weeks including discovery and review | D-MAK Productions 2026 pricing breakdown, checked 13 September 2026 |
What goes wrong
Choosing on price alone. The cheap route is the wrong one when a single film carries five figures of revenue, and the expensive route is wrong when you need twelve films a year.
Commissioning without a named owner. Agencies are only as good as the brief and the feedback they get. If nobody has time to run the project, the money buys less than you think.
Treating it as permanent. Most teams end up doing both: commissioning the one flagship film and generating everything else. Deciding per video, rather than per company, is usually the right answer.
What making it yourself looks like here
You type or paste the idea — or a full script you already have — then choose orientation, narration voice, length and an optional logo. The script is yours to edit or rewrite before anything is rendered.
What comes back is a narrated whiteboard explainer you can watch, download as an MP4 and share by private link, with captions ready for the platform you are posting to. If a real company logo appears in your script, it can be resolved and used in the film.
Next step
Run the tree, then test the cheap branch before you commit to the expensive one: make one film on your welcome credits and see whether it clears the bar. If it does, you have saved a commissioning budget; if it does not, you have a script an agency can start from.
See what your video would cost
Free to write and rewrite. Credits are only used when you generate.
Common questions
- Should I make an explainer video myself or hire someone?
- Make it yourself when the stakes are moderate, you need several videos, the deadline is short, or nobody in-house can manage an agency. Commission it when one film carries serious commercial weight, needs original illustration, or must meet a broadcast brand standard. Custom studio 60-second explainers commonly cost US$5,000 to US$15,000 (D-MAK 2026 pricing breakdown, checked 13 September 2026).
- When is it worth hiring an explainer video agency?
- When a single film is worth more than a few thousand pounds to you, needs a bespoke illustration or character style, and you have four to eight weeks plus a named person to run the brief and reviews. Without that person, our judgement is that an agency project lands late and costs more than the quote.
- Can a non-designer make a good explainer video?
- Yes, if the tool removes the animation work rather than exposing it. On AutoScribble there is no canvas: you type or paste the idea and choose orientation, voice, length and an optional logo. Canvas-based tools are a different proposition and take real practice to use well.
- How long does it take to get an explainer video made?
- Generated video is same-day. Our judgement is that a freelancer takes one to three weeks and an agency four to eight, including discovery, scripting, storyboard and review rounds. If your first cut is needed inside two weeks, the commissioned routes rarely fit.
- Is it cheaper to make explainer videos in-house?
- In cash, almost always. The real in-house cost is time: script writing, review rounds and, on canvas tools, the animation itself. Price your own hours into the comparison — that is the line that decides it for most teams, not the licence fee.